Finding solutions when you’re ‘inside’ a problem can be as challenging as searching for the sky when you’re in a windowless basement. If you’ve seen movies like ‘What the bleep’ or ‘The secret’, you’re familiar with the concept of the power of the mind and you’ll be well on your way to accepting that life doesn’t always work in a logical sequence of cause and effect. This also applies to finding solutions. If you could have figured it out using logic, you would have already figured it out! As Albert Einstein said: ‘The important problems we have cannot be solved with the same level of thinking with which we created them’.
We live in a world of self-induced limitations. If you’re watching your language carefully, you’ll find that even in the simplest conversations you might have with coworkers, friends, or even your kids, you’re continually reaffirming limitations and beliefs that won’t serve you. Even in the conversations you hold in your mind when you’re alone, you repeatedly confirm those blocks. These self-induced limitations are partly responsible for getting us into the box, where we can’t seem to see the solutions to our problems. So what can we do to get out of the box?
Let’s take a look at the different positions in finding solutions to challenges:
Position 1 – Ignorance
Since you are reading this article, it means that you have moved from position 1, which is when you are ‘blissfully unaware’, to position 2.
Position 2 – Awareness
Becoming aware means realizing that something is as it is and that there may be a possibility that things are different. That is the stage where clients come to see therapists, counselors, and trainers. If you are lucky enough to sit on a coach’s couch, you have differentiated yourself from the majority of the population that lives in position 1. This is where we analyze our problems, think them through and do everything we know how to do to get out of the box. . At this stage, you want to gather information, rather than over-analyze and try to find premature solutions.
Position 3 – Change
Once you’ve spent time collecting data on your challenge, you’ll be able to apply the change. Some changes you will be able to apply yourself, other changes may require a ‘change agent’, a coach, a therapist, a friend or a specialist. Specifically, if your box is so masterfully crafted and you’ve done all you can, then it’s time to find a “change agent” specialist.
Position 4 – Forming a new habit
After making a change, you will need to practice forming a new habit. Just like you got into the habit of brushing your teeth, this might need time and reinforcement.
NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) ‘change agents’ specialize in helping you become aware of limitations and blow the walls out of your boxes so you can become aware of solutions. Skillful and conscious use of words can turn problems around and apply change so you know when and how to get out of the basement so you can see the sky!